UPSC CSE Prelims Paper 1 Practice Test - 6 - UPSC MCQ

• It is a Central Sector Scheme to be implemented over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, with World Bank assistance.

• Atal Bhujal Yojana is a Central Sector Scheme for facilitating sustainable groundwater management with an outlay of INR 6000 crore. Out of this, INR 3,000 crore will be a loan from the World Bank and INR 3,000 crore as a matching contribution from the Government of India (GoI).

• The objective is to improve groundwater management in priority areas in the country through community participation and to foster behavioral changes that promote conservation and efficient use of water.

Additional information

• The priority areas identified under the scheme fall in the states of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. These States represent about 25% of the total number of over-exploited, critical, and semi-critical blocks in terms of groundwater in India. They also cover two major types of groundwater systems found in India - alluvial and hard rock aquifers- and have varying degrees of institutional readiness and experience in groundwater management

• The scheme will also facilitate the convergence of ongoing Government schemes in the states by incentivizing their focussed implementation in identified priority areas.

• Funds under the scheme will be made available to the participating states as Grants.

• Hence both the statements are correct.

• Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) scheme (formerly known as Shramik Vidyapeeth) is implemented in the country since 1967 to improve the skills and knowledge of the vulnerable. Earlier it was under the Ministry of Human Resources Development later it was transferred to the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship in 2018.

• Statement 1 is correct: The mandate of the scheme is to provide vocational skills in non-formal mode to non-literate, neo-literates, persons with rudimentary level of education upto 8th and school drop-outs upto 12th standard in the age group of 15-45 years.

• Statements 2 and 3 are correct: It is implemented through NGOs with 100% grants from the Government of India. Jan Shikshan Sansthans are registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The affairs of Jan Shikshan Sansthan are managed by respective Board of Management approved by the Government ofIndia.

• Recently MSDE launched guidelines to re-energize the Shikshan Sansthans. Some of which includes Alignment of JSS course to National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF), Evidence-based assessment system, Linking JSS to PFMS (Public Finance Management system), Easy Online certification, etc.

• Nehru Yuva Kendras were established in the year 1972 with the objective of providing rural youth avenues to take part in the process of nation-building as well as providing opportunities for the development of their personality and skills. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• In the year 1987-88, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) was set up as an autonomous organization under the Government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, to oversee working of these Kendras.

• NYKS is the largest grassroots level youth organization; one of its kind in the world. It channelizes the power of youth on the principles of voluntarism, self-help and community participation. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• NYKS has targeted to identify areas of harnessing youth power for development by forming Youth Clubs, which are village-level voluntary action groups of youth, at the grassroots level to involve them in nation-building activities. The core strength of NYKS lies in its network of youth clubs. Youth Clubs are village-based organizations working for community development and youth empowerment.

• The basic objective for the creation of youth clubs is to render community support through developmental initiatives involving activities with a particular focus on youth empowerment. The implementation of programs and activities of youth clubs is based on local needs and requirements by mobilizing resources from various government departments and other agencies, which include both national, State level and multilateral institutions. The youth clubs and its member volunteers form the base of the NYKS’s vastnational rural network.

• It is chaired by the Minister of Youth Affairs And Sports. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Mission Indradhanush was launched in 2014 to cover all those children who have been partially vaccinated or not vaccinated during routine immunization rounds. The objective the schemes is to increase full immunization coverage to at least 90 per cent of children by 2020.

• Under the mission, vaccination is provided against 12 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD) i.e. diphtheria, Whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae type B infections, Japanese encephalitis (JE), rotavirus vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and measles-rubella (MR). However, Vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis and Haemophilus influenzae type B is being provided in selected districts of the country. Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

• The Ministry is being technically supported by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and other donor partners. Mass media, interpersonal communication, and sturdy mechanisms of monitoring and evaluating the scheme are crucial components of Mission Indradhanush.

• The ‘Adopt a Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan’ scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India. It was launched in September 2017 on World Tourism Day by President Ram Nath Kovind. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• Under it, the government invites entities, including public sector companies, private sector firms as well as individuals, to develop selected monuments and heritage and tourist sites across India. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• The sites/monument are selected on the basis of tourist footfall and visibility and can be adopted by private and public sector companies and individuals — known as Monument Mitras — for an initial period of five years. The Monument Mitras are selected by the ‘oversight and vision committee,’ co-chaired by the Tourism Secretary and the Culture Secretary, on the basis of the bidder’s ‘vision’ for the development of all amenities at the heritage site. There is no financial bid involved. ‘Monument Mitras’ and take up the responsibility of developing and upgrading the basic and advanced tourist amenities at these sites as per their interest and viability in terms of a sustainable investment model under CSR. They would also look after the Operation & Maintenance of the same.

• The Monument Mitras, in turn, will get limited visibility on the site premises and on the Incredible India website. The oversight committee also has the power to terminate a memorandum of understanding in case of non-compliance or non-performance. Hence statement 3 is correct.

• Some of the featured Heritage sites are Fathepur Sikri (Agra), Chand Baoli (Abhaneri village of Rajasthan), Pangong Tso (Ladakh) etc.

Kessler Syndrome

• This is an idea proposed by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978.

• It states that if there was too much space junk in orbit, it could result in a chain reaction where more and more objects collide and create new space junk in the process, to the point where Earth's orbit becomes unusable.

  • It is also known as “collisional cascading”.

• This cascade of collisions first came to NASA’s attention in the 1970s when derelict Delta rockets left in orbit began to explode creating shrapnel clouds.

• Kessler proposed it would take 30 to 40 years for such a threshold to be reached and today, some experts think we are already at critical mass in low-Earth orbit at about 560 to 620 miles (900 to 1,000 kilometres)

• Statement a is incorrect. It was not the Indian Army, but the Indian Navy launched a surprise attack on the Karachi harbour under the code name 'Operation Trident'.

• Statement b is incorrect. It was the Karachi agreement in which the agreement was signed between Military Representatives of India and Pakistan regarding the Establishment of a Ceasefire Line in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

• Statement c is correct. Both India and Pakistan agreed that the relation between the two countries would be governed by the principles of the United Nations Charter

• Statement d is incorrect. China maintain the neutrality in the war. However, US supported the Pakistan and also warned India against taking military action.

Statement 1 is incorrect. It was mainly due to the efforts of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91), the principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta, that the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856, was passed. But the Widow Remarriage Association in 1850s was founded by Vishnu Shashtri Pandit and not by Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

Statement 2 is correct. He wrote down the Bengali alphabet as we know it today. His original publication on the subject is called Barna Parichay literally, An Introduction to the Alphabet.

Statement 3 is correct. He was strongly against the priestly monopoly of scriptural knowledge. For this he opened the Sanskrit college to Non-Brahmins.

• Correct pair 1 is : Lord Reading (1921-1926) repealed the Press act of 1910 and the Rowlatt act of 1919

• Correct pair 2 is: Lord Irwin (1926-31) announced the Deepavali declaration that the objective of the British was to grant Dominion status to India. However, Irwin never promised for granting the Dominion Status to India.

• Correct pair 3 is : Lord Linlithgow (1936-44) announced the August offer to seek cooperation of India.

• Statement a is incorrect. Subordinate courts at the provincial capitals and districts were under the supervision of Amatyas.

• Statement b is incorrect. The Samharta was the highest officer in charge of assessment of all revenues of the empire.

• Statement c is incorrect. The Sannidhata was the chief custodian of state treasury and store house.

• Statement d is correct. Adyakshas were the superintendents who controlled the economic activities of the state related to agriculture, trade and commerce, weights and measures, crafts such as weaving and spinning, mining and so on.

• Statement a is incorrect. Ur is a smaller administrative unit than Nadu. Settlements of peasants, known as ur. Groups of such villages formed larger units called nadu.

• Statement b is correct. Rich peasants of the Vellala caste exercised considerable control over the affairs of the nadu under the supervision of the central Chola government.

• Statement c is incorrect. land gifted to brahmanas were called brahmadeya.

• Statement d is incorrect. Each brahmadeya was looked after by an assembly or sabha of prominent Brahmana landholders. These assemblies worked very efficiently.

Parle remained the most chosen Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand for the tenth year in a row in 2021.

This was revealed in the latest Kantar India’s Brand Footprint 2022 report. It is followed by Amul, Britannia, Clinic Plus, Tata and Ghadi. The report ranked these brands based on Consumer Reach Points (CRPs), based on actual purchases and the frequency of those purchases.

‘World Day Against Trafficking in Persons’ is observed every year on 30 July. This year the theme of the event is “Use and abuse of technology”.

The Blue Heart Campaign was also launched where the blue heart represents the sadness of those who are trafficked, as well as the cold-heartedness of those who buy and sell fellow human beings.

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of 2006, also known as the Forest Rights Act, is pivotal legislation that governs and provisions for the legal rights of the forest-residing communities, particularly the indigenous Adivasi tribal community, over the territory and natural resources that they have been dispossessed of. After the introduction of the current Forest Rights Act, rights were also provided to the community for protecting and managing the forest. The Act aims to shift away from the excess state control of the forests which were kept away from the purview of public discourse and discussion. Thus, it democratizes and gives a respectful recognition to the tribal identity. So, statement (1) is correct.

Section 3(1 )(c) provisions for the rights to use minor, "traditionally" collected products

manufactured by forests such as tendu patta, herbs or plants of medicinal benefits. Nonetheless, timber has been left excluded from this list as this would have facilitated rampant deforestation.

So, statement (2) is not correct.

The role of the entire Gram Sabha, and not merely the Gram Panchayat, has been given due importance in the Act. The Gram Sabha members are given the authority to recommend who possesses and cultivates the land, the duration of the possession or/and cultivation, etc. So, statement (3) is correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (c).

Tribunals were not a part of the original Constitution; it was incorporated in the Indian Constitution by 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. The CAT was set up on 1st November 1985 as a statutory body under tl1e Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985. So, statement (1) is not correct.

It has jurisdiction to deal with service matters about the Central Government employees or any Union Territory, or local or other Government under the control of the Government of India, or of a corporation owned or controlled by the Central Government. Members of the defence forces and officers and servants of the Supreme Court are excluded from the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal. So, statement (2) is correct.

It has ·17 regular benches, 15 of which operate at the principal seats of High Courts and the remaining two at Jaipur and Lucknow. These Benches also hold circuit sittings at other seats of High Courts. The tribunal consists of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Members. The members are drawn, both from judicial and administrative streams, to give the tribunal the benefit of expertise both in legal and administrative spheres. The appeals against the orders of an Administrative Tribunal shall lie before the Division Bench of the concerned High Court. Under Article-323A, only one Tribunal for the Centre and one for each State or two or more States may be established. So, statement (3) is not correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (c).

Some of the DPSPs are based on Gandhian ideology. They represent the program of reconstruction enunciated by Gandhi during the national movement. To fulfill the dreams of Gandhi, some of his ideas were included in the Constitution as Directive Principles. They require the State:

• To organize village panchayat and endow them with necessary powers and authority to function as self-government units (Article 40). So, statement (a) is correct.

• To promote cottage industries on an individual or cooperative basis in rural areas (Article 43).

• To promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of cooperative societies. (Article 438). So, statement (b) is correct.

• To promote the educational and economic interests of SCs, STs, and other weaker sections of the society and to protect them from social injustice and exploitation (Article 46). So, statement (c) is correct.

• To prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health (Article 4 7).

• To prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle and to improve their breeds (Article 48).

• To organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines (Article 48) is based on Liberal-Intellectual Principles, representing the ideology of liberalism. So, statement ( d) is not correct.

• Therefore, the answer is ( d).

Originally, the Constitution did not make any provision with respect to the Special Officer for

Linguistic Minorities. State Reorganization Commission (1953-55), under the chairmanship of Fazl Ali, made such a recommendation. Later, the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 inserted Article 350-B in Part XVII of the Constitution in this regard. So, statement (1) is correct.

The officer is appointed by the President. Constitution does not specify the qualifications, tenure and service conditions of Special Officer for linguistic minorities. So, statement {2) is not correct.

Accordingly, the office was created in 1957 with Allahabad as headquarter and three regionai offices at Belgaum, Chennai and Kolkata. The officer is called the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities. As far as the Union government is concerned, the office falls under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Linguistic Minorities are determined on a state-wide basis.

So, statement (3) is not correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (a).

Article 15 provides that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. The article says that no citizen shall be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction, or condition on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth with regard to:

• Access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or

• The use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly by State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public. The word 'discriminate' means 'to make an adverse distinction with regard to' or 'to distinguish unfavourably from others.'

• Use of the word 'only' connotes that discrimination on other grounds is not prohibited.

• Thus, in the case of a citizen suffering from a deadly communicable disease, the State can restrict that person from using bathing ghats to ensure public health safety. So, statement ·1 is not correct.

Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955):

Under the Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955), the Act declares the following acts as offences:

• Preventing any person from entering any place of public worship or from worshipping therein or justifying untouchabiiity on traditional, religious, philosophical, or other grounds;

• Denying access to any shop, hotel, or places of public entertainment or Insulting a person belonging to a scheduled caste on the ground of untouchability;

• Refusing to admit persons in hospitals, educational institutions, or hostels established for public benefit or even preaching untouchability directly or indirectly; and

• Refusing to sell goods or render services to any person. However, the Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955) does not cover the social boycott of a few individuals or their exclusion from religious services. Thus, the Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955) does not deem the social boycott of individuals or their exclusion from religious services as an 'offense under untouchability.' So, statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is ( d).

Statement 1 is correct: The Jute Corporation of India Limited (JCI) was incorporated by the Government of India (GOI) in 1971 as a price support agency with a clear mandate for the procurement of raw jute without any quantitative limit from the growers at the Minimum Support price (MSP) declared in each year by the GOI based on the recommendations made by Commission for Agricultural Cost & Prices (CACP).

Statement 2 is not correct: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved reservation norms for mandatosry use of jute in packaging for the Jute Year 2021 -22 (1st July 2021 to 30th June 2022). The Mandatory packaging norms approved for Jute Year 2021-22 provide for 100% reservation of the foodgrains and 20% of sugar to be compulsorily packed in jute bags.

Statement 1 is correct. The founder of Ahom kingdom was Chaolung Sukaphaa. He founded Ahom kingdom in 1228.

Statement 2 is correct. Treaty of Yandaboo was signed between Britishers and Ahoms in 1826, following which Ahom kingdom became part of the British India.

Statement 3 is correct. The Ahom state depended upon forced labour. Those forced to work for the state were called paiks.

Knowledge Base: The Ahom dynasty (1228–1826) ruled the Ahom kingdom in present-day Assam, India for nearly 598 years. The dynasty was established by Sukaphaa, a Shan prince of Mong Mao who came to Assam after crossing the Patkai mountains. The Ahoms ruled the land till the province was annexed to British India in 1826 with the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo.

Ahom society was divided into clans or khels. A khel often controlled several villages.

• Statement 1 is incorrect. Rash Bihari Bose founded the Indian Independence league. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar founded the Free India Society. He has also founded the Abhinav Bharat Society.

• Statement 2 is correct. Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History, was written by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in Marathi a few years before his death in 1966.

• Six Glorious Epochs provides an account of Hindu resistance to invasions of India from the earliest times. It is based on historical records, accounts of foreign travellers, and the writings of colonial historians.

• Statement 3 is correct. He participated in the Swadeshi movement. Savarkar was also against foreign goods and propagated the idea of Swadeshi. In 1905, he burnt all the foreign goods in a bonfire on Dussehra.

Knowledge Base: Veer Savarkar was born in 1883.Savarkar was an Indian freedom fighter,

activist, politician, lawyer, writer and formulator of Hindutva philosophy. Savarkar was also the first political leader to set independence as India’s goal in the 1900s. Veer Savarkar had called the 1857 revolt as the first war of independence. He has written a book called “The Indian War of Independence 1857”

Option a is incorrect. Mullah do Piaza acted as the minister of Home Affairs in Akbar’s court. Fakir Aziao-din acted was a sufi mystic and advisor in Akbar’s court.

Option b is incorrect. Shaikh Abu al-Fazal ibn Mubarak was also known as Abu'l-Fazl, Abu'l Fadl and Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami. He was the author of Akbarnama and Ain-I-Akbari. He also translated the Bible into the Persian language.

Faizi was a poet laureate and Abul Fazal’s brother. He was one of the Navratnas of Akbar and was given the status of Malik-ush-Shu’ara (Court Poet) by Akbar.

He translated “Lilavati (Sanskrit work in Maths by Bhaskaracharya)", into Persian.

Option c is incorrect. Raja Todar Mal was the Finance Minister of the Mughal empire during Akbar's reign and was one of the Navaratnas in Akbar's court. He (and not Fakir Aziao din) introduced standard weights and measures, a land survey and settlement system, revenue districts, and officers. This system of maintenance by Patwari is still used in the Indian Subcontinent which was improved by the British and the Government of India.

Option d is correct. Abdul Rahim Khan-i- Khana was a poet and one of the most important dewans of Akbar’s court. Known for his Urdu couplets and his Sanskrit books on astrology like Khetakautukam and Dwatrimshadyogavali, the village of Khan Khana, in the Nawanshahr district of Punjab is named after him.

He was the son of Bairam Khan, Akbar’s trusted guardian and mentor.

Option a is incorrect. Bhakra Nangal Dam

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Sutlej River in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam forms the Govind Sagar reservoir. The dam is located at a gorge near the upstream Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh of height 226 m.

Option b is correct. Rihand Dam Rihand Dam also known as Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar, is the largest dam of India by volume. The reservoir of Rihand Dam is called Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar and is India's largest artificial lake. It is situated on Son River, a tributary of Ganga. Rihand Dam is a concrete gravity dam located at Pipri in Sonbhadra District in

Uttar Pradesh, India.

Option c is incorrect. Hirakud dam Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 kilometres from Sambalpur in the state of Odisha in India. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km long. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after India's independence.

Option d is incorrect.

The Tehri Dam is the tallest dam in India. It is a multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment dam on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India.

• Option a is incorrect. Heat waves occur when actual maximum temperature is ≥45°C.
• Option b is incorrect. Heat waves is a period of abnormally high temperatures that occurs during the summer season. In India, heat waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.
• Option c is correct. Severe heat waves occur when temperature departure from normal is greater than 6.4°C.
• Option d is incorrect. To declare a heat wave, the set criteria should be met at least in 2 stations in a Meteorological subdivision for at least two consecutive days and it will be declared on the second day Knowledge Base:

A Heat Wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season. In India, Heat Waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.

Heat Wave need not be considered till maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degree C for Plains and at least 30 degree C for Hilly regions

Following criteria are used to declare heat wave:

Based on Departure from Normal:

1. Heat Wave: temperature Departure from normal is 4.5°C to 6.4°C.

2. Severe Heat Wave: temperature Departure from normal is >6.4°C.

Based on Actual Maximum Temperature (for plains only):

1. Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥ 45°C.

2. Severe Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥47°C.

The President of India is the Chief Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. Any decision to

conclude peace or war is finally approved by him. However, after his approval, the Parliament must also assent to it within a certain period of time. So, statement 1 is correct.

Article 123 deals with the Ordinance making power of the President. The President has many legislative powers and this power is one of them. Supreme Court in RC Cooper vs. Union of India (1970) held that the President's decision to promulgate Ordinance could be challenged on the grounds that 'immediate action' was not required, and the Ordinance had been issued primarily to bypass debate and discussion in the legislature. It was argued in DC Wadhwa vs. the State of Bihar (1987) that the legislative power of the executive to promulgate Ordinances is to be used in exceptional circumstances and not as a substitute for the law-making power of the legislature.

So, it is not outside the purview of judicial review. So, statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (a).

The DDMA acts as the district planning, coordinating and implementing body for disaster

management and takes all measures for disaster management purposes in the district in

accordance with the guidelines laid down by the NOMA and the SOMA.

Every state government should establish a District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for every district in the State. A DDMA consists of a chairperson and other members, not exceeding seven. The Collector (or District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner) of the district is the ex-officio chairperson of the DDMA. The elected representative of the local authority is the ex-officio co-chairperson of the DDMA. But, in the case of Tribal Areas (as referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India), the chief executive member of the district council of the autonomous district is the ex-officio co-chairperson of the DDMA. So, statements 1 and 3 are not correct.

The chief executive officer of the DDMA, the superintendent of police and the chief medical officer of the district, are the ex-officio members of the DDMA. Not more than two other district-level officers are appointed by the state government as members of the DDMA. In the case of a district where Zilla Parishad exists, the chairperson of that Zilla Parishad is the co-chairperson of theDDMA. The chief executive officer of the DDMA is appointed by the state government. So, statement 2 is correct.

Therefore, the answer is (c).

Gold Nano Particles (GNPs) are melted at much lower temperatures (300 °C) than bulk gold (1064 ⁰C). NPs have been found to impart various desirable properties to different day-to-day products.

For example, GNPs are found to have greater solar radiation absorbing ability than conventional bulk gold, which makes them a better candidate for use in the photovoltaic cell manufacturing industry.

Applications of GNP

• Electronics - As the world of electronics becomes smaller, nanoparticles are important components in chip design. Nanoscale gold nanoparticles are being used to connect resistors, conductors, and other elements of an electronic chip. So, application 1 is correct.

• Photodynamic Therapy - Near-IR absorbing gold nanoparticles (including gold nanoshells and nanorods) produce heat when excited by light at wavelengths from 700 to 800 nm. This enables these nanoparticles to eradicate targeted tumors. When light is applied to a tumor containing gold nanoparticles, the particles rapidly heat up, killing tumor cells in a treatment also known as hyperthermia therapy. So, application 2 is correct.

• Therapeutic Agent Delivery - Therapeutic agents can also be coated onto the surface of gold nanoparticles. The large surface area-to-volume ratio of gold nanoparticles enables their surface to be coated with hundreds of molecules (including therapeutics, targeting agents, and anti-fouling polymers). So, application 3 is correct.

• Gold nanoparticles are used in a variety of sensors. For example, a colorimetric sensor based on gold nanoparticles can identify if foods are suitable for consumption. Other methods, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, exploit gold nanoparticles as substrates to measure the vibrational energies of chemical bonds. This strategy could also be used for the detection of proteins, pollutants, and other molecules label-free. So, application 4 is correct.

• Diagnostics - Gold nanoparticles are also used to detect biomarkers in the diagnosis of heart diseases, cancers, and infectious agents. They are also common in lateral flow immunoassays, a common household example being the home pregnancy test. So, application 5 is correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (d).

Defence Institute of Advanced Technology Pune has developed a Nano-technology based

disinfectant spray to combat COVID-19 by disinfecting all types of surfaces. It has been named "ANANY A." So, statement 1 is correct.

It can be used by anyone, from a common person to a healthcare worker, for individual as well as large-scale use. This is a water-based spray and will be effective for more than 24 hours. This formulation adheres very effectively to fabric, plastic and metallic objects, and its toxicity to humans is negligible. The shelf life of the spray is said to be more than six months. So, statement 2 is not correct.

The spray can be used on masks, PPEs, hospital linens, as well as other likely contaminated surfaces such as medical instruments, elevator buttons, doorknobs, corridors and rooms, etc. So, statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is (c).

Photosynthesis is the process in which light energy is converted to chemical energy in the form of sugars. In a process driven by light energy, glucose molecules (or other sugars) are constructed from water and carbon dioxide, and oxygen is released as a byproduct. The glucose molecules provide organisms with two crucial resources: energy and fixed-organic-carbon. So, oxygen is the byproduct of photosynthesis. So, option 1 is correct.

The water is oxidized within the plant cell, meaning it loses electrons, while the carbon dioxide is reduced, meaning it gains electrons. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide into glucose. The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air and stores energy within the glucose molecules. So, options 2 and 3 are not correct.

Inside the plant cell are small organelles called chloroplasts, which store the energy of sunlight.

Within the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplast is a light-absorbing pigment called chlorophyll, which is responsible for giving the plant its green color. During photosynthesis, chlorophyll absorbs energy from blue- and red-light waves and reflects green-light waves, making the plant appear green.

Therefore the correct answer is (a).